My New Shoes are Sauc's.

That's so funny!! Isn't that hysterical?? Yes. It is. And it's true. I've ventured away from Nike to purchase my first pair of Saucony shoes. I'll let you know how they are in a few runs.

You know, I was just thinking about the first half marathon I ever ran- it was last year this time. Let me see if I can dig up the results.....

Yeah. Look at that. Sigh. I was so young back then. I didn't follow a training plan for that race- I simply put in a 7 mile run with Stephan a few weeks before and kept running whenever Sawyer took a nap.

The day was cold and rainy- My iPod broke and kept updating my pace and time every 25 seconds. I never walked once in that race. It was a good race.

Which is why I decided to run it again this year. You know, just to cap off my running year and allow myself a second dessert at Thanksgiving.



Yeah, that and..............   I PR'd the half marathon by TWENTY FREAKEN MINUTES.

TWENTY.

MINUTES.

20.

10 x 2.

MINUTES.


So.... how does one knock a full minute and a half PER MILE off of one's distance pace?? Good question. I'm choosing to blame the zombies.

Here is the recap- short because I get bored of listening to myself type.

We arrived at the 5k starting line about 5 minutes after they started. Wrong starting line. Jump back in the car (pick up a guy named Pat because he was also at the wrong place) and cruise over to the half marathon starting line about 3 miles away. I started in the back near the 12 min/mile people. Which is usually my place.

I saw the 11:05 pace runners up ahead of me and decided that it would be nice to keep them within sight for a few miles. So I started running. I ran the first 7 miles under 11:00 per mile. I kept thinking, "I should probably slow down." But I never did. I actually passed the pace group. (They later caught up when I tried to answer my cell phone while running)

Guys, you have no idea how amazing it is to have any relationship at all to a pace group. The only pace group I've ever seen during a race was the run/walk pacers who passed us during the Soldier Field 10 Mile. I've never been fast enough to follow a pace group.

Until today.

I think I just kicked something's ass.